Sunday, August 9, 2015

Tom Coughlin, Jason Pierre-Paul finally talk but still no timeline for return: Report

It’s been over four weeks in the making, but Tom Coughlin and Jason Pierre-Paul have finally spoken to each other. And from that conversation, it sounds like JPP won’t be back with the Giants anytime soon.

On Saturday, the Giants head coach said that he’d finally gotten in touch with his star defensive end, in a phone call on Friday night. And while Coughlin said the two had a “good conversation,” Pierre-Paul also made official what most believed: He will not return to the team until he is healthy enough to take the field.

“He’s looking forward to coming,” Coughlin said. “He’s anxious to be here. But he’s not going to come until he feels like he’s ready to be able to play.”

The Giants defensive end already spoke Giants General Manager Jerry Reese and his position coach Robert Nunn in recent weeks to re-open the lines of communication that were closed immediately after Pierre-Paul was injured in a fireworks accident on July 4.

The Giants defensive stud is still recovering from injuries to both hands sustained in the incident. He had at least his right index finger amputated as a result, and, just a month later, there are still questions about his rehabbing and condition.

“Do I know anything more than I did before, no,” Coughlin said, via NJ.com. “He’s looking forward to coming, he’s anxious to be here. But he’s not going to come until he feels like he is ready to play. It could be any amount of time; I’m not even going to speculate. … He wishes he was here, too.”

JPP has yet to sign his $14.813 million franchise tag tender and remains without a contract. By not inking a deal until fully healthy, he prevents the Giants from placing him on the non-football injury list. If the Giants chose to place him on the NFI list, they would not have to pay him.

Coughlin said he has no idea when Pierre-Paul will be ready for action, so he can't calculate when the defensive end will re-join the team. “It could be whatever amount of time,” the coach said. “I’m not even going to speculate.”

But Coughlin is sure that Pierre-Paul wants to suit up with the Giants.

“There’ve been many people talking to him,” Coughlin said. “He’s little by little tried to make his contacts.

“I was glad to hear his voice,” Coughlin added. “He sounded good. He sounded interested, that he wanted to get back here.”